Yes, I am the Boss of You

The by-line here, is, to quote Stella, "I so cute". I agree, don't you?

It is much harder to let go than I had imaged BC (before-children). I don't want them to watch Spider-man, to play with guns or barbies, eat food with artifical dyes (it makes Francis beyond hyper), drink from BPA-laden cups .... is that really so limiting? I just want to protect them a little from the overt marketing and plastic-ness and consumerism and disposable happiness that seems to be everywhere. Maybe just protect them until they can understand why it weirds me out? (It weirds me out, and yet, I do long for the new shiny liptint from Benefit ... with new shoes to match, of course. And especially if it has been featured in a 2-page ad in Real Simple).

I guess I had imagined crafting their life so that it looked like an advertisement from a Montessori-supply catalog. (1 set of upper case wooden letters - only US$120!). I am weak -- they eat take-out. They watch videos. They wear non-organic cotton from The Gap. They eat pesticide-laden blueberries (washed, of course).

Maybe I am just providing them with fodder for dinner-time stories ("and my mom fed us BBQed tofu!"). But, maybe, during this small window of influence that I have, I can share a little of why my values are my values. Why violence is bad. Why we should treat others with kindness and empathy. And why, god damn it, you have to eat that nice organic broccoli I worked so hard to cook for you!